The present invention relates to a package seal utilized to provide a fluid tight seal between a rotatable shaft and a housing. The package seal is mounted interiorly of the housing and extends to the exterior along the shaft.
Early solutions to the problem of sealing a housing and a relatively rotating shaft utilized packing in a stuffing box. Later, face seals, were utilized which were sized to fit within the counter bore in the housing intended to receive packing material. More recently package seals have been developed which are positioned on the shaft exteriorly of the housing. Since such seal arrangements are not limited to the size constraints of the housing, larger and more durable seal components can be employed.
An example of a package seal is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,377,290. The package seal is designed to slide onto the shaft and is fixed to the exterior of the housing through a gland plate bolted to the housing. This package seal offers significant advantages over the prior art.